At least five employees of the non-governmental organization "World Central Kitchen" (World Central Kitchen), including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, the media service of the Hamas-run government of Gaza, quoted by "Reuters".
Among those killed in the strike in Deir al-Bala in central Gaza were citizens of Poland, Australia and Great Britain, as well as one Palestinian, a spokesman for the media service said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was conducting a thorough investigation at the highest level to understand the circumstances of "this tragic incident". "The IDF is making great efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid and is working closely with the "World Central Kitchen" in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza," the military said in a statement.
"We are aware of reports that members of the "World Central Kitchen" were killed in an IDF attack while working to support our humanitarian efforts to deliver food to Gaza,'' the organization wrote in its publication in 'X'. "This is a tragedy. Aid workers and civilians should NEVER be targeted. NEVER", the message added.
"World Central Kitchen" delivers food aid and ready-made meals to people in need, reports "Reuters". Last month, it said it had served more than 42 million meals in Gaza in 175 days.
Spanish chef Chef Jose Andres founded "World Central Kitchen" in 2010, sending cooks and food to post-earthquake Haiti. Since then, the organization has delivered food to communities affected by natural disasters, refugees at the US border, healthcare workers during the covid pandemic, and people in the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.